- Mark Zuckerberg apologised for child abuse content and operational errors on Meta platforms, sources said
- Meta team met IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw after government summons over PM Modi post removal
- Government stated Meta is not covered under intermediary definition and safe harbour rules
Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has apologised for child sexual abuse material, deepfake content and operational errors on its platforms, sources told NDTV on Wednesday after the company's global team met IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, following the government's recent summons over the temporary removal of a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Sources said it was made clear to the Meta team that they are not covered under the 'intermediary' definition.
The social media platform selects who receives the content, and Safe harbour under the IT Act is not applicable, according to sources.
The Meta officials, sources said, admitted that a lot of money was paid for "boosting certain type of content".
"Meta accepted the mistake that a lot of illegal content was promoted," sources said, adding that Meta officials will be called again.
India is Meta's largest market by users, with hundreds of millions of people using Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The Parliamentary panel had asked the Meta chief to apologise for the temporary removal of a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PM Modi posted the vertical video, speaking directly to the camera, on July 23 -- during the height of protests led by the online Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The video was was briefly removed from Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, but was later restored.
The US-headquartered social media giant attributed the incident to a technical glitch and apologised. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) found the explanation "inadequate". The company said the content was removed "in error" and was restored on the platform.
The Parliamentary standing committee on information technology, headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, also demanded action against intermediary platforms that carry child sexual abuse material (CSEAM) and demeaning material against women.
A parliamentary standing committee can only recommend, the action has to be taken by the government.
On Wednesday, the Meta global team met top IT ministry officials following government summons over the removal of PM Modi's post.
Wrongful action on prominent post and lapses in curbing child sexual abuse material on social media platform were among the concerns raised by the government.
Top Meta executives, including Global Affairs officer Joel Kaplan, met IT secretary S Krishnan and other senior officials of Meity in a discussion that lasted 45 minutes.
